An expected major snow storm will push the Peoria Rivermen and Bloomington Thunder off the ice Tuesday.

The Rivermen game at Bloomington, scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Tuesday at U.S. Cellular Coliseum, has been postponed as central Illinois braces for a winter storm projected to bring 4-8 inches of snow, high winds and ice.

The SPHL game has been pushed back a week, to Feb. 11.

That sets up a four-game, six-night stretch next week for both the Rivermen and Thunder.

Peoria will resume action when it hosts Columbus on Friday and Saturday.

Bloomington resumes with a pair of road games at Huntsville.

"If this storm proves to be as severe as projected, we don't want our teams, or our fans, out there in it," Rivermen co-owner Bart Rogers said. "We had room in the schedules to adjust it, so we made the decision."

BEER NIGHT IS BACK: The Rivermen game on Feb. 15 at Carver Arena, designated as Chicago Blackhawks Night and with a special appearance by Blackhawks legend Tony Esposito, has added a little extra flavor.

The Rivermen say it will also be Beer Night. That's $2 beers at the concession stand.

POPULAR POPCORN: The Rivermen have worked out a deal to help fans with those high-priced Civic Center concession stand items with something the team is calling the "Bottomless Popcorn Pack."

It includes four upper bowl tickets for $36, and comes with a tub of popcorn that can be refilled for free.

You can purchase at the Civic Center box office or through the team at 676-1040.

TALK NET: Rivermen head coach Jean-Guy Trudel, after his team beat Knoxville on Friday and extended a rematch Saturday to nine rounds of a shootout tiebreaker before falling in the weekend road series:

"Our guys wanted that game (Saturday). I could see it in their eyes, they were determined. Sometimes when you win, it takes a lot out of you, too. We had a close, tough game Friday and won. I think down the stretch Saturday we just didn't have enough left in our legs to finish it. But I liked the way we played these two games here."

SOCHI ANTICIPATION: The Rivermen are well-represented in the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi.

PENALTY BOX EXPANSION: The Rivermen host a pair of games this weekend against a Columbus team that is second only to Bloomington in penalty minutes in the SPHL.

Columbus averages 25.4 penalty minutes per game, and its 61 major infractions is 20 more than any team in the league.

The Rivermen split a late-December two-game series at Columbus in which they earned 13 power plays.

The latter of those games was an ugly, cheapshot-filled contest.

RIVER READINGS: The Rivermen head into the new week sitting fifth in the SPHL standings, and with games-in-hand figured in, would be two points out of first. ... The Rivermen loss in a nine-round shootout tiebreaker Saturday at Knoxville left them 0-2 in shootouts this season with a combined 0 of 14 performance on those penalty shots. ... Rivermen center Garrett Vermeersch is second in the league with 20 goals. His five game-winners are also second in the SPHL. ... Rivermen goaltender Kyle Rank is No. 1 in the SPHL with a 2.05 goals-against, .933 saves rate and league-best four shutouts. ... Peoria rookie goaltender Eric Levine has risen to seventh in the rankings with a 2.72 goals-against and .912 saves rate. ... The Rivermen are 12-6-1 with a 2.29 goals-per game allowed since Rank and Levine were put together as their goaltending tandem. That would be, far and away, the No. 1 defensive average in the league if projected over a full season. ... Called-up Rivermen winger-defenseman Nick Wheeler was +4 for ECHL Las Vegas in a 5-2 win over Rivermen Hall of Famer Jason Christie's Ontario team Friday. Ontario launched 27 shots on goal in the third period of that game. ... Called-up Rivermen winger Phil Bushbacher has two goals, four4 assists and a +4 rating in eight games at ECHL Cincinnati. ... Called-up winger Tyler Fernandez has cooled at ECHL Wheeling. He has no goals, two assists and a -6 rating in his last 12 games and one goal in his last 20 games.

Dave Eminian covers the Rivermen for the Journal Star. Reach him at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Check out his sports blog, Cleve's World, at pjstar.com and follow him on Twitter @icetimecleve.